Do you know this woman?
She inspired two of rock’s all-time great story songs.
Her name is Clare MacIntyre. She was working as a counsellor for the Fresh Air Fund camp during the summer of 1960. A fellow camp counsellor was a young lad named Harry Chapin.
A summer romance blossomed between the two. That in turn developed into a serious two-year relationship.
Clare’s father was the head of Eastern Airlines and Harry was just some kid from the wrong side of the tracks. Malcolm MacIntyre did not approve of Harry and the relationship eventually ran its course.
Fast forward to a Friday in 1969. Harry is out of work and applies for a hack license so he can drive a taxi (you can see where this story is leading). Now, from their relationship, Harry knows that Clare never took the subways. Her father insisted that she always take a cab. So, all that weekend in 1969, Harry is wondering, “What happens if Clare gets in my taxi? What would I say?” Come Monday, Harry is so bothered by that possibility that he never reports to his job at the cab company.
Instead, Harry writes a song about the situation he has imagined. He changes the locale from Manhattan to San Francisco and changes Clare’s name to “Sue.”
And that’s how Harry Chapin’s “Taxi” came to be written.
Years later, Chapin wrote a second great song about the couple, aptly titled “Sequel.”
How much of the second song is based on fact? You’ll have to decide for yourself as Harry never commented on it.
